The present invention relates generally to the synthesis of metallocene compounds. These metallocene compounds may be used as components in a multi-component catalyst system, ultimately for use in olefin polymerizations or other catalytic processes. More specifically, this invention relates to methods of synthesizing certain bridged cyclopentadienyl-indenyl metallocene compounds.
Many multi-step synthesis procedures for metallocene compounds involve fine purification processes to separate and/or purify intermediate components at each step in the synthesis procedure. These fine purification processes—including distillation, chromatography, crystallization, and the like—can add time, cost, and complexity to the metallocene synthesis.
It would be beneficial to develop new synthetic methods to produce bridged cyclopentadienyl-indenyl metallocene compounds in acceptable yields without the use of expensive, complex, and time-consuming fine purification steps. Accordingly, it is to this end that the present invention is directed.